Cat behavior encompasses the actions and reactions displayed by a cat in response to various stimuli and events. Cat behavior includes body language, elimination habits, aggression, play, communication, hunting, grooming, urine marking, and face rubbing. It varies among individuals, colonies, and breeds.
Communication and sociability can vary greatly among individual cats. In a family with many cats, the interactions can change depending on which individuals are present and how restricted the territory and resources are. One or more individuals may become aggressive: fighting may occur with the attack, resulting in scratches and deep bite wounds.
Communication
Kittens vocalize early in development. Some examples of different vocalizations are described below.
Purring – Commonly associated with relaxation and contentment in cats. Cats purr during activities such as: eating and resting, as well as when they are experiencing stress, pain, or illness.
Meowing – It serves various communicative purposes in cats. It can function as a greeting, a request, a form of protest, or a general expression of attention-seeking behavior. Some cats have been observed vocalizing while moving through their environment, seemingly meowing to themselves. Hissing or spitting – This indicates an angry or defensive cat. Yowling or Howling – It is a prolonged loud meow sound that a cat would make to indicate that they are in distress. The distress could be multiple indications, such as being trapped, in pain, or simply looking for their owners. Chattering – This occurs when hunting or tracking potential prey. This consists of quick chirps made while the mouth vibrates. The gaze is fixed and staring. This behavior may be in response to a surge of adrenaline or may be caused by the anticipation of a pending hunt.
Body language
Cats rely strongly on body language to communicate. A cat may rub against an object or lick a person. Much of a cat's body language is through its tail, ears, head position, and back posture.
Tail Observing how a cat holds its tail can give a good sense of the cat's current temperament.
Held high, may have a slight curl forward – a sign of friendliness. The cat is happy, content, and comfortable. The tail may quiver or vibrate if the cat is excited. Held low and tucked under – a sign of fear or unease. The cat is attempting to make itself a smaller target to potential threats. Flicking, twitching – a sign of agitation. The cat is on high alert or is upset, and is not receptive to interaction. Cats may also flick their tails in an oscillating, snake-like motion, or abruptly from side to side, often just before pouncing on an object or animal. "Fluffed" or "Halloween-cat tail" – When a cat fluffs up their tails, they are not happy. Here, they are attempting to make themselves appear larger, warning whomever they feel unsafe with, to back off.
Eyes
When cats greet another cat in their vicinity, they can do a slow, languid, long blink to communicate affection if they trust the person or animal they are in contact with. One way to communicate love and trust to a cat is to say its name, get its attention, look it in the eyes and then slowly blink at it to emulate trust and love. They may return the gesture.
In a study of 18 cats, the cat behavior of several half-blinks followed by a prolonged eye narrowing or eye closure was found to be a positive emotional response. They show a specific set of feline behaviors: several half-blinks followed by prolonged eye narrowing or eye closure. When a familiar human slow-blinks towards a cat, the cat tends to approach the human more frequently than if the human has a neutral expression that avoids eye contact. This behavior may share features with the "genuine" human smile that involves the corners of the eyes narrowing.
Ears
A cat's ears can tell an observer what they are feeling, such as pain, fear, or when they sense danger. At times, one may notice cats to display an ear posture commonly referred to as "airplane ears." This is when their ears are rotated to the sides or angled backward. Cats have acute hearing, so when something scares them, their ears tend to pin to the side or back, and the further they are, the more terrified the cat is. It can be difficult to understand what emotion the cat is portraying with their ears, especially since their ears undergo the same pattern when the cat feels they are in danger/feeling defensive, where their ears pin flat to their heads or turn back. "Airplane" ears do not last that long, only until the moment of danger or fear is over. When cats are in pain or feeling sick, they will hold their ears low, rotated to the side. Cats also show feelings of playfulness and happiness when their ears are pointing forward, straight up. This means the cat is alert and content.
Back posture
Cats make themselves "smaller" when nervous or afraid, but arch their backs when they wish to appear more intimidating when they sense danger and feel defensive. When they arch their backs, they also tend to "fluff" their tails, hence the "Halloween" cat look, known as piloerection. More information on posture is listed below.
Scent rubbing and spraying These behaviors are thought to be a way of marking territory. Facial marking behavior is used to mark their territory as "safe". The cat rubs its cheeks on prominent objects in the preferred territory, depositing a chemical pheromone, known as a contentment pheromone. Synthetic versions of the feline facial pheromone are available commercially.
Cats have anal sacs or scent glands. Scent is deposited on the feces as it is eliminated. Unlike intact male cats, female and neutered male cats usually do not spray urine. Spraying is accomplished by backing up against a vertical surface and spraying a jet of urine on that surface. Unlike a dog's penis, a cat's penis points backward. Males neutered in adulthood may still spray after neutering. Urinating on horizontal surfaces in the home outside the litter box may indicate dissatisfaction with the box, due to a variety of factors such as substrate texture, cleanliness and privacy. It can also be a sign of urinary tract problems. Male cats on poor diets are susceptible to crystal formation in the urine, which can block the urethra and create a medical emergency.
Body postures A cat's posture communicates its emotions. It is best to observe cats' natural behavior when they are by themselves, with humans, and with other animals. Their postures can be friendly or aggressive, depending on the situation. Some of the most basic and familiar cat postures include:
Relaxed posture – The cat is seen lying on the side or sitting. Its breathing is slow to normal, with legs bent, or hind legs laid out or extended. The tail is loosely wrapped, extended, or held up. It also hangs down loosely when the cat is standing. Stretching posture – another posture indicating the cat is relaxed Yawning posture – either by itself or in conjunction with a stretch: another posture of a relaxed cat. Alert posture – The cat is lying on its belly, or it may be sitting. Its back is almost horizontal when standing and moving. Its breathing is normal, with its legs bent or extended (when standing). Its tail is curved back or straight upward, and there may be twitching while the tail is positioned downward. Tense posture – The cat is lying on its belly, with the back of its body lower than its upper body (slinking) when standing or moving back. Its legs, including the hind legs, are bent, and its front legs are extended when standing. Its tail is close to the body, tensed or curled downward. There can be twitching when the cat is standing up. Anxious/ovulating posture – The cat is lying on its belly. The back of the body is visibly lower than the front part when the cat is standing or moving. Its breathing may be fast, and its legs are tucked under its body. The tail is close to the body and may be curled forward (or close to the body when standing), with the tip of the tail moving up and down or side to side. Fearful posture – The cat is lying on its belly or crouching directly on top of its paws. Its entire body may be shaking and very near the ground when standing up. Breathing is fast, with the cat's legs bent near the surface, and its tail is curled and very close to its body when standing on all fours. Confident posture – The cat may walk around in a more comfortable manner with its tail up to the sky, indicating its importance. Cats often walk through houses with their tail standing up high above them, making them look grander and more elegant. Terrified posture – The cat is crouched directly on top of its paws, with visible shaking seen in some parts of the body. Its tail is close to the body, and can be standing up, together with its hair on the back. The legs are very stiff or even bent to increase their size. Typically, cats avoid contact when they feel threatened, although they can resort to varying degrees of aggression when they feel cornered, or when escape is impossible.
Grooming
Oral grooming for domestic and feral cats is a common behavior; studies on domestic cats show that they spend about 8% of resting time grooming themselves. Grooming is extremely important not only to clean themselves but also to ensure ectoparasite control. Fleas tend to be the most common ectoparasite of cats, and some studies allude to indirect evidence that grooming in cats is effective in removing fleas. Cats do not only use their tongue for grooming to control ectoparasites; scratching may also aid in dislodging fleas from the head and neck.
Kneading
Kittens "knead" the breast while suckling, using the forelimbs one at a time in an alternating pattern to push against the mammary glands to stimulate lactation in the mother.
Cats carry these infantile behaviors beyond nursing and into adulthood. Some cats "nurse," i.e. suck, on clothing or bedding during kneading. The cat exerts firm downward pressure with its paw, opening its toes to expose its claws, then closes its claws as it lifts its paw. The process takes place with alternate paws at intervals of one to two seconds. The cat may knead while sitting on its owner's lap, which may prove painful if the cat has sharp claws.
Because most of the preferred "domestic traits" are neotenous, or juvenile traits that persist in the adult, kneading may be a relic juvenile behavior retained in adult domestic cats. It may also stimulate the cat and make it feel good, in the same manner as a human stretching. Kneading is often a precursor to sleeping. Many cats purr while kneading. They also purr mostly when newborn, when feeding, or when trying to feed on their mother's teat. The common association between the two behaviors may corroborate the evidence in favor of the origin of kneading as a remnant instinct.
Panting
Unlike dogs, panting is a rare occurrence in cats, except in warm weather environments. Cats may pant in response to anxiety, fear or excitement. Panting can also be caused by play, exercise, or stress from things like car rides. However, if panting is excessive or the cat appears in distress, it may be a symptom of a more serious condition, such as a nasal blockage, heartworm disease, head trauma, or drug poisoning. In many cases, feline panting, especially if accompanied by other symptoms, such as coughing or shallow breathing (dyspnea), is considered to be abnormal, and should be treated as a medical emergency.
Reflexes Righting reflex
The righting reflex is the attempt of cats to land on their feet at the completion of a jump or a fall. They can do this more easily than other animals due to their flexible spine, floating collarbone, and loose skin. Cats also use vision and their vestibular apparatus to help tell which way to turn. They can then stretch themselves out and relax their muscles. The righting reflex does not always result in the cat landing on its feet.